Entertainment
The Forgotten Buffy The Vampire Slayer Contest That Blew Up The Phone Lines
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show that has only gotten better with age. It was arguably the best genre series of the ‘90s, and the streaming era has brought new generations of fans into the fold. Most of those fans feel a very personal connection with Buffy because the show tells stories about teenage drama and trauma through the lens of urban fantasy. In this way, the show was never really about vampires, werewolves, and other demons. It was actually about the heartbreak and fear that young people have about feeling helpless, and the transcendent joy they feel when they finally discover their own power.
Of course, the show changed one fan’s life in a much more direct way by giving her a walk-on cameo in one of the series’ best episodes. The drama-filled episode “Lovers Walk” had an over-the-top, comedic ad with a special sweepstakes where one lucky fan could get a cameo in the upcoming episode “The Prom.” The winner was Jessica Johnson, who became a small part of the show’s history thanks to the strangest advertisement in Buffy history.
Reach Out And Dust Someone
“Lovers Walk” was a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode that (you guessed it) was all about the messy romantic relationships of our favorite characters. Bad boy vampire Spike tries to coerce Willow into making a spell that will force his old girlfriend, Drusilla, into loving him again. Willow, however, has her own problem: she has been making out with Xander behind the back of Oz, her faithful werewolf boyfriend. Cordelia discovers their affair, causing her to break up with her boyfriend, Xander. Meanwhile, Angel reluctantly admits he cannot tell Buffy what she really needs to hear: he doesn’t love her.
While “Lovers Walk” is one of the better episodes of Season 3 (arguably Buffy’s best season), the sweepstakes attached to this episode is even more entertaining than the story. It’s part of a 1-800-COLLECT advertisement. Sarah Michelle Gellar pops up and tells fans they don’t have to be alone for the holidays. At this point, the announcer tells audiences that every call will enter fans into a Buffy contest where they can win a cameo in an upcoming episode. After the narrator hypes the upcoming “Lovers Walk” episode, David Boreanaz shows up, startling Gellar. She nearly stakes him with an icicle. The ad ends with her telling fans that their “Christmas wish might just come true.”
’90s Nostalgia Overload
There is something impossibly nostalgic about watching this vintage advertisement. For one thing, a commercial for a collect calling company seems downright quaint in an age of smartphones and video calls. Additionally, the ad seems hilariously tacky in retrospect. Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the most critically acclaimed genre shows in television history, but its two biggest stars were forced by the network to do a goofy commercial that seemed more suited for a Saturday morning children’s cartoon block than prime time TV.
The commercial also plays with ambiguity regarding whether these actors are actually playing their iconic Buffy characters. On one hand, it makes no real sense for our favorite Slayer to break the fourth wall and talk directly to the audience about how great collect calls are. On the other hand, she nearly takes out Boreanaz with an icicle in the shape of a stake. If this is supposed to be Gellar and not a fierce vampire killer, it’s insane to think that this was the best self-defense tool rather than, say, some mace.
The Weirdest Contest In Buffy History
At any rate, all’s well that ends well with this bizarre advertisement. It did a great job promoting “Lovers Walk,” which ended up being one of the best episodes (currently sitting at an 8.8 out of 10 on IMDB) of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Meanwhile, the sweepstakes was successful, and Jennifer Johnson of Maryland got a non-speaking cameo in the fan-favorite episode “The Prom.” Ironically enough, the only real loser here was 1-800-COLLECT, a company that, like a vampire, basically turned to dust shortly after its run-in with the Slayer.
Incidentally, it’s pretty funny to see Buffy shilling for a 1-800-COLLECT, a telecom giant whose parent company would go bankrupt before the show aired its final episode. But what else would you expect from a character whose earliest tagline was “if the apocalypse comes, beep me”?
Entertainment
LG W6 Wallpaper vs. The Frame Pro: Why is the Wallpaper TV so expensive?
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The resurrected LG Wallpaper TV is officially available to preorder. LG hasn’t announced a release date yet, but some interested buyers may need an extra second to think after seeing that the W6 Wallpaper TV costs $5,499.99.
And that’s just the smallest size. To be fair, the smallest size in question is 77 inches, but that’s still quite pricey — especially if your instinct is to compare the Wallpaper to Samsung’s The Frame. So, the $5,500 question is: Is LG delusional for the W6 Wallpaper’s price tag, or are we delusional for wanting it to be cheaper?
get $200 off a soundbar when you preorder
Why does the Wallpaper cost so much more than The Frame?
The most expensive Frame model, the 83-inch Frame Pro, costs $3,999.99. We’re certainly not used to any art TV making The Frame look affordable. But this time, the Frame Pro sounds more like a dupe for the LG Wallpaper than the other way around.
However, comparing these two designs is a real apple and oranges situation. The W6 Wallpaper is OLED and The Frame Pro is Neo QLED (Samsung’s version of mini-LED). Those are two completely different methods of lighting the TV screen, and OLED is already considered to be superior to QLED in most situations.
As you can see from the side view, the Wallpaper is unbelievably thin.
Credit: LG
(I don’t think brands do themselves any favors in the “convincing the average buyer that this TV is a practical purchase” department by strictly staging product photos in a home that looks like Bruce Wayne’s penthouse, but I digress.)
The W6 Wallpaper’s OLED tech is some of LG’s most advanced ever. Some key features include Brightness Booster Ultra and Hyper Radiant Color Technology, which LG says make the W6 Wallpaper nearly four times brighter than the average OLED TV. According to LG, the W6 is the most “reflection-free” of any LG TV. Brightness and legibility in bright rooms are typically an OLED TV’s rare weak spot against QLED TVs, but it sounds like LG bridged that gap here.
The most mind-bending part is that LG packed it all into a screen that measures 9 millimeters thick — even thinner than either The Frame model, which are already impressively thin. For reference, 9 millimeters is thinner than a closed MacBook Pro.
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Comparatively, The Frame Pro’s Neo QLED technology isn’t even Samsung’s best Neo QLED work.
The best Samsung Neo QLED TVs use full array local dimming: Clusters of tiny LED bulbs arranged across the entire screen that can individually dim or brighten as needed, leading to deeper blacks, vibrant highlights without blooming, and overall more accurate picture quality. Instead, the Frame Pro’s mini-LED system consists of extra bulbs arranged across the bottom of the TV, pointing upward. While the Frame Pro’s picture is brighter and more contrasted than the regular Frame, it almost feels basic compared to the W6 Wallpaper.
As if gamers needed any convincing to blindly side with the OLED TV, the LG Wallpaper’s max 165Hz refresh rate is worth nothing — the Frame Pro can only hit 144Hz.
Samsung has a Wallpaper TV dupe. It’s just not in The Frame family.
The Frame Pro’s teetering title as the best art TV certainly didn’t get much cushion from Samsung’s latest TV launch. When the remaining half of Samsung’s 2026 flagship TVs were released at the beginning of April, the biggest news about The Frame Pro was a negligible HDMI port upgrade. That’s exactly the level of innovation needed to compete with LG’s new OLED art TV.
But during that launch, I noticed that the nicest new Samsung OLED embodied the core features of art or lifestyle TVs. The Samsung S95H rocks a steel-colored metal bezel and a “glare-free” matte screen coating, mounts flush with the wall, and can access The Samsung Art Store. It also sees boosted brightness and improved reflection handling over the 2025 Samsung S95F, which was already one of the internet’s favorite OLED TVs for bright rooms.
Art features or not, high-end OLED TVs are just expensive
It’s not like high-end OLED TVs aren’t always on the steep side of the pricing spectrum. The 2026 77-inch LG C6H OLED and 2026 77-inch LG G6 OLED cost $3,699.99 and $4,499.99, respectively. The 77-inch version of the aforementioned Samsung S95H OLED also costs $4,499.99. As one of the absolute best LG OLED TVs you can buy, plus the unique art TV features, the W6 Wallpaper is naturally pricier — just like we’ve long accepted that The Frame is simply going to be more expensive than other QLED TVs with similar specs.
If it makes you feel better, the new LG Micro RGB TVs are just as salty. The cheapest one, the 75-inch MRGB95B TV, just debuted at $4,999.99. The 85-inch version costs $6,999.99.
No one is alleging that the W6 Wallpaper is a realistic investment for the average household. $5K is still wickedly expensive for a TV, but it’s pretty in line with the common asking price for other premium OLED TVs.
Entertainment
Hackers got data on 5.5 million ADT customers by phishing, report says
Millions of people use security company ADT to protect their home or business. And yet their cybersecurity may have been compromised in the latest high-profile breach from hacking group ShinyHunters.
The website Have I Been Pwned reports that a ShinyHunters data breach included 5.5 million unique email addresses associated with ADT customers. ADT says that customers’ payment information wasn’t compromised.
Still, the company confirmed that the breach included customer names, phone numbers, and addresses, as well as Social Security and Tax ID numbers in a minority of cases.
“ADT’s cybersecurity systems detected unauthorized access to a limited set of customer and prospective customer data on April 20,” reads an ADT blog post confirming the breach. “The company’s response protocols activated immediately — terminating the intrusion, launching a forensic investigation with leading third-party cybersecurity experts, and notifying law enforcement.”
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ShinyHunters told Bleeping Computer they gained access to the ADT Salesforce account by compromising an employee’s Okta SSO login credentials. Bleeping Computer added that the hackers used voice phishing. The recent Panera Bread breach, also traced back to ShinyHunters, reportedly also involved SSO phishing.
Okta, a popular SSO service provider, recently warned about the prevalence of voice phishing attacks (also known as vishing) in a recent blog post, which included tips for guarding against these cyberattacks.
ShinyHunters is a prolific hacking organization. In recent months, the group has also been responsible for high-profile breaches involving Rockstar Games, Crunchyroll, Salesforce, Bumble, and others. Ransomware attacks may result.
In a typical ransomware attack, the hackers threaten to release or sell leaked customer or company data on the dark web unless the compromised organization agrees to pay a ransom.
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Entertainment
Get 10 bottles of wine for $40 with this 75% off deal
TL;DR: Get 10 bottles of red, white, or mixed wine for $39.97 (reg. $160) through May 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Shipping not included.
If you like having several bottles of wine on hand without putting too much thought into the different blends you should buy, this deal keeps things easy. Right now, you can get a 10 bottles of wine in this bundle for $39.97, which is 75% off the usual $160 price. The sale runs through May 10 at 11:59 p.m. PT, with shipping added at checkout.
This bundle isn’t about rare vintages or overly technical tasting notes. Instead, the Swirl team curated these wines to be balanced and easy to enjoy. From a flavor standpoint, that usually means fruit-forward profiles, moderate acidity, and smoother finishes, which tend to appeal to a wider range of palates. Several of the included wines have also earned recognition in blind-tasting competitions, where selections are judged purely on taste rather than branding.
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There are three options available for the bundles: a red-only collection, a white selection, or a mixed set that includes rosé. The red wines feature flavors such as cherry, raspberry, and subtle spice, while the whites offer lighter notes like green apple or citrus. The mixed option provides variety for changing preferences or different occasions.
This kind of bundle makes the most sense for anyone who entertains occasionally, enjoys trying different styles, or just wants to cut down on frequent trips to restock. Having a variety on hand can make last-minute plans, dinners with friends, or even a quiet night in feel a little more effortless. Plus, a bottle of wine makes a great last-minute gift idea for a friend.
If that sounds like something you’d use, the $39.97 cost keeps the commitment relatively low for 10 standard 750ml bottles of wine. Just factor in the $29.95 shipping cost at redemption and get ready to say bottoms up.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
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